Zach Wilson Will Remain Jets' Starter; Saleh Says QB 'Played a Good Game' vs. Raiders

Something is going to have to change for the New York Jets if they are going to make a playoff run this season following Sunday's loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, but it apparently won't be the quarterback.

Head coach Robert Saleh told reporters "we're just looking at things … schematically" with no plans on replacing Zach Wilson under center with Aaron Rodgers sidelined by a torn Achilles.

"When speaking about Zach, I get it—there's a yearning for more or whatever it is," Saleh said. "But I feel like he played a good game yesterday … It's hard to make changes just to make changes just to pacify (people), especially when someone's not deserving."

Saleh has publicly supported Wilson throughout the season, so his latest comments are not surprising.

The coach may think the quarterback played well against the Raiders, but that just wasn't the case. New York managed a total of 12 points on four field goals and hasn't scored an offensive touchdown in its last two games despite having playmakers such as Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall.

Wilson has five touchdown passes to six interceptions on the season and now has 20 touchdown passes to 24 picks in 31 games since the Jets selected him with the No. 2 overall pick of the 2021 NFL draft.

Quarterback play held New York back last season, so it responded by acquiring Rodgers with the hope the future Hall of Famer would deliver an AFC East crown alongside a strong defense. Yet he suffered the torn Achilles in Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills in a cruel development for the team following an offseason of such optimism.

Rodgers told NBC's Melissa Stark during Sunday's broadcast that he is targeting a "mid-December" return. That may or may not be realistic given the nature of the injury, but it won't matter if New York is out of the playoff race at that point.

After all, he isn't going to put his long-term health in jeopardy for a team that doesn't have a chance to accomplish any of its goals in large part because Wilson played so poorly during his absence.

Things don't get much easier for the Jets in the immediate future with upcoming games against the contending Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins. Two more losses would put them at 4-7 and staring at a long road back to contention even before Rodgers may return.

That will be the reality if Wilson doesn't quickly improve.